


If Only Things Were Different

by JoeyJoJo1138



Series: Warrior Monks [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Awkward Romance, Coruscant, F/M, Fall of the Republic (Star Wars), Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Imperial Propaganda (Star Wars), Jedi Knights (Star Wars), Jedi as People, One Shot, Rise of the Empire (Star Wars), Valentine's Day Fluff, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 11:07:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29452788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoeyJoJo1138/pseuds/JoeyJoJo1138
Summary: A newly knighted Jedi, dressed as a civilian, is on a short date with the cashier of his and his Master's favorite restaurant.
Series: Warrior Monks [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2163420
Kudos: 2





	If Only Things Were Different

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Valentine's Day everyone.

This was, undoubtedly, the most stressful thing Oz had ever done. War was, well he wouldn’t go so far as to say it was less stressful, but it was much easier for him to enter the correct mindset. Battles were chaotic and unpredictable, but Oz knew how to behave in combat. There was always a clear objective, even if the objective was as simple as ‘Don’t get shot.’ The last time he felt this nervous was before his first battle. By now he’d seen so much violence he was unphased by it. He was used to fighting, even if he still felt a little nauseous from time to time. 

Going on a date with the cashier should have been a walk in the park compared to attacking a Separatist military base. Oz’s eyes widened momentarily. Were they going for a walk in the park? Or were they just going to eat pastries in the park? What did people even do on dates?

“You okay? You’re looking a little green there.” The cashier said. A Rodian passing by gave her a dirty look.

“I’m alright. So, this is the park?” Oz asked. 

The park was much nicer than what you would expect from its location in one of Coruscant’s more questionable surface districts. For starters, the public announcement monitors were uncracked and free of graffiti. More importantly, the plants were real. They were mostly shrubs and small trees, but it was more than any park outside the well-to-do areas of the planet could hope for. Even the grass was real and not just a synthetic substitute. 

The cashier smiled. “Yep!” She quickly averted her gaze. “But I, uh, I guess you were expecting something more impressive?” 

“What makes you say that?” Oz asked. “Seeing anything natural on Coruscant is impressive.”

The cashier laughed at that. “Yeah. I mean, with your accent, and your clothes, you’re not from around here. I guess I thought you’d think this place was too low-class for you.”

“I see. If it helps, I’m not usually dressed like this.” Oz offered. He and the cashier sat down at an unoccupied bench. The park was much livelier than Oz expected, but people took any opportunity they could to make use of open space on Coruscant so it wasn’t too surprising.

“Oooh. What do you usually wear? As you can see, I don’t make greasy aprons a big part of my personal style.” The cashier said as she motioned to her outfit. 

She just had to ask him that, didn’t she? 

“I make comfort an important component of my style. I’m fond of loose and flowy clothing.” Oz answered. He never liked wearing clothing that clung too closely to his body. The only exception was when he wore his formal robes. They were a gift from his master.

“Loose and flowy, huh? Glad I put my hair down.” The cashier said. 

Now that she mentioned it, Oz saw that the cashier had indeed put her hair down. It was a good choice, her hair was thick and silky. It reminded Oz of a particularly well groomed Wookiee he had once met. Oz never spent much time worrying about his hair. He kept it short for as long as he could remember. The top was just long enough to brush into something presentable. He preferred it to the buzz cut some of his peers sported. Just because the Jedi Order called for male human Padawans to have short hair didn’t mean they couldn’t make an effort to style their hair nicely. As a Jedi Knight, Oz was now free to grow his hair out as much as he wanted. Hopefully it’d turn out as nice as the cashier’s eventually.

The cashier blushed as Oz admired her hair. “So, this is a little embarrassing, but can I ask you something?”

“By all means.” Oz replied.

“What’s your name? I know, I should’ve asked sooner, but I was kinda rushing since I was afraid you and your mom would leave my family’s restaurant before I got to ask you out.” The cashier explained as she took out a few pastries from the bag she’d brought.

Oz was immediately brought back down to Coruscant. His plans for styling his hair were forgotten as soon as the cashier asked him that question. Should he tell her his real name? Was he supposed to say the whole thing? Or just what he went by? He regretted not asking Master Katra for notes. How could she encourage him to go to the park with this girl and not tell him what he was supposed to do?

“Oh! Sorry, just remembered that I invited you here, so it’d be kinda rude if I didn’t go first. Can’t believe that slipped my mind. Not sure if you can tell, but I don’t really do this too often.” The cashier chuckled weakly. “My name is Seda. And your name is?” 

“Oz.” He replied.

“Nice name. Short and manageable. I mean, I assume. I know some names are spelled differently depending on the language. I had a schoolmate from, I want to say Ryloth, and her name sounded short like yours but it was actually kind of long since most of the letters were silent.” Seda said.

“It’s alright. I spell it with osk and zerek. No silent letters hidden anywhere. It’s a basic name. And it is in Basic. My family is from a Basic-speaking world.” Oz stated. He was technically correct. 

“Nice. So where’s your family from?” Seda asked as she offered Oz a pastry. “My family is from Alderaan.”

Oz looked at the pastry in Seda’s hand. Even if it wasn’t fresh, it was still light and fluffy. Oz thinking about his family’s homeworld was anything but. The Jedi were his family now. It didn’t matter where he came from.

“Coruscant. I apologize. I should have been more specific.” Oz answered as he accepted the pastry.

“Don’t worry about it. I may or may not have already assumed that, what with your accent and everything.” Seda replied.

“If I might ask, could you explain what you mean by that? The accent and the ‘everything’.” Oz asked. Seda had mentioned his accent a few times now.

“Oh, well you have an upper-level accent. And you talk like you went to school at one of those fancy academies. All proper and whatnot.” Seda explained.

“I suppose I hadn’t given it much thought. Most of the people around me speak in a similar manner.” Oz admitted.

“Don’t make the trip to the lower levels that often? Might not be cultured, but there is a lot of ‘culture’.” Seda explained. Oz smiled at her wordplay. “Before we moved here to CoCo Town my family lived on level 3204. I still have some relatives down there so I make the trip pretty regularly. I’ve always wanted to visit Alderaan itself though.” 

“Have you ever been offworld?” Oz asked.

“Never really got a chance, y’know? Just keeping the restaurant open and dealing with everything else takes a lot of creds. And even if I had the money I still wouldn’t be able to go.” Seda frowned for a brief moment after mentioning the money.

“May I ask why?” Oz asked before biting into his pastry.

“I’m studying for the University of Coruscant entrance exam. I want to study medicine but I need a really high score to qualify. My school wasn’t that great so I have to get perfect marks, pretty much. I don’t really have a lot of free time.” Seda said.

“But you’re here with me. What made you decide this was a better use of your time?” Oz asked. 

Seda wanted to say that she’d seen him eat at her family’s restaurant for years and developed a crush on him, but felt that saying so would have been a little disturbing to hear. Oz had just come back after not dining at the restaurant for years. No need to scare him off again. Who’s to say he’ll come back this time?

“I really, really needed a break from studying. And I’ve been putting this off for a while and I didn’t know when I’d get another chance. The war doesn’t help. Kinda makes everything feel like it could all end at any time.” Seda said. 

The public announcement monitor in the center of the park began to play one of Chancellor Palpatine’s speeches. Just when Oz was starting to feel normal, the war showed up again. He couldn’t seem to escape it, even for one night. Not when it affected everyone from Jedi Knights to cashiers on Coruscant.

“So, what do you do? If you’re comfortable sharing, I mean.” Seda said. She tore off a piece of the pastry and placed it into her mouth.

“I work for the Senate. You wouldn’t believe how many reports I have to read through everyday.” Oz said. Both of these statements were technically true.

“You work for the Senate?! Have you ever met any senators? Ooh, or what about Jedi?” Seda asked. She was so excited she almost choked on the pastry she was eating. She was also relieved Oz hadn’t asked her to elaborate on what she meant by ‘putting this off’.

“I’ve met a few senators and some Jedi. I haven’t gotten to know them personally or form any meaningful relationships, mind you. They were all nice enough. Well, the senators that weren’t corrupt were nice, anyway.” Oz said.

“So the Jedi aren’t really like all the rumors say they are?” Seda asked.

Oz almost would have preferred if Seda had asked him about the senators. He would have found talking politics more pleasant than talking about Jedi. It wasn’t his fault Jedi were much too mysterious to not talk about.

“And what might those rumors say? That they kidnap and brainwash children? Or are you referring to the ones that say they’re behind the war?” Oz answered.

“What? No, not those rumors at all! I’m not crazy. I mean the ones about how they’re weird.” Seda said.

“Oh.” Oz gave a sheepish smile while Seda became extremely interested in the rest of the pastries. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so quick to assume the worst. Oz really needed to work on his social skills. “Jedi can be a bit off-putting, yes. I’d assume it’s because they rarely interact with anyone other than each other. And the Senate, of course.”

“That would do it. Not all of them though.” Seda says. Oz felt his pulse start racing. Had she figured it out? “Apparently a Jedi Master likes to eat at a diner across town in all his robes and everything. Heard he’s nice.”

“Obi-Wan Kenobi?” Oz asked.

“Yep! He’s one of the big time Jedi they have on the HoloNews. Have you ever seen him around the Senate?” Seda asked.

“A few times. I’ve never had a chance to speak with him myself. My mother’s probably spoken to him more than I have. She works for the Senate as well.” Oz replied. It concerned him how easy it was to refer to his former master as his mother. He was a Jedi. He was supposed to be beyond attachments like that.

“Even if Jedi are kind of off-putting like you said, I’ve always wanted to meet one. There’s something about mystical warriors with fantastic powers that is really intriguing to me.” Seda said. 

“Just keep in mind that they’re far from the image painted by holo serials and those ‘novels’.” Oz said.

Seda nearly choked on another pastry as she laughed. “Wow.” Seda said, her laughter finally subsiding. “Don’t tell me you read those things too!” 

It was Oz’s turn to blush. “Well, I meant to say that I assume the novels are inaccurate. I, well, at the academy I attended my classmates sometimes had some data tapes or flimsi with those stories on them and they’d talk about them when our instructors weren’t present.” Oz narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean ‘ _ too _ ’? Are you telling me that you’re a fan of reading stories about dashing Jedi Knights saving fair maidens?”

“Not specifically that genre but I will admit that, sometimes, on occasion, I will read those stories. I know they’re unrealistic, but that’s what makes them fun! It’s not like I expect there to be secret romances between two rival Jedi or a gruff smuggler actually needing to take shelter with a bunch of Jedi nuns.” Seda explained. “But what I really like about those stories is how much nicer they can be than real life. The heroes always win, people get to live exciting lives, and things always end up going great for them. I don’t want to bring you down, but I already told you a lot about my life. I just need an escape every once in a while.”

“I understand. I know I am more fortunate than most, but sometimes I wish I could leave my life behind for something better too.” Oz said. “Something less disappointing.”

“It’s not disappointing right now, is it?” Seda asked. She looked deeply into Oz’s eyes. She could see the pain within, and hoped that he could see hers. They were from two different worlds. Oz was part of the Coruscant elite and Seda was simply part of the faceless masses. But right now, they had formed a connection that went beyond their social status. Seda felt it and she was sure Oz did too.

Oz looked into Seda’s eyes as well. Why was she staring at him like that? And when did she scoot closer?

“Of course not. I haven’t felt like this in a long time.” Oz said. Seda scooted even closer to him. “A long time.” 

Oz felt Seda’s lips press against his. With it came the sweet taste of the Aldera puff pastries they had been eating together. Something told him that that’s not what he should be focusing on. Almost unconsciously he put an arm around her waist as she cupped his chin. So this was what all the fuss was about.

The kiss was over all too soon. Oz and Seda were left almost breathless. The pair walked back to Seda’s family restaurant hand in hand, sporting satisfied smiles. The kiss was a moment they shared, a moment free of their problems, their fears, their suffering. 

It was a moment Oz would never repeat again. He was a Jedi Knight. He could not let his passions come between himself and his duty to the Republic. His responsibilities were more important. This was destined to be a footnote in Oz’s life, a half-forgotten memory from his youth. It was best to let the past die. 

Seda never did get to see Oz again. She hoped he would come by, but that hope diminished every day. She had almost forgotten about him, until one evening, on the campus of the University of Coruscant, she ran into him once more. He looked just like he did when she last saw him. His wasn’t the only face she saw, but the only one that mattered to her. She felt the last bit of hope within her wither when the word ‘Dead’ flashed over Oz’s face on the monitor. He was gone, along with the rest of the Jedi. Her expression hardened as she continued on her way to class. The Jedi were traitors. Besides, it wouldn’t be wise to let anyone see her tear up at the wanted fugitives monitor. The enemies of the Empire deserved no mercy. The Jedi got what was coming to them. Maybe if Seda repeated those words to herself enough, they’d be true. 

**Author's Note:**

> Downer ending, I know. But hey, not every Jedi can have a secret relationship. And if you’ve read Warrior Monks, don’t worry about this revealing how that story ends. Although it could be true. From a certain point of view. Let me know what you think!


End file.
